


Only Time May Tell

by SplitPersonalityGoddess



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And for his pseudo apprentice to stop trying to save everyone, Clockwork Needs Sleep, Clueless Danny Fenton, Danny has a Hero Complex, He goes back in time after Phantom Planet happens, Hero Worship, M/M, Not really though, Post-Episode: s03e12-13 Phantom Planet, Seriously Danny, Time Shenanigans, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Vlad is a Little Shit, Vlad loves Danny, it will make sense if you read it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:35:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22234933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SplitPersonalityGoddess/pseuds/SplitPersonalityGoddess
Summary: Danny, in an act of mercy to try to prevent his nemesis from occurring, travels back in time to be there when Vlad is in the hospital.But, as learned before, time travel has a tendency to have unintended consequences.  And Danny, in this act of kindness, has caused a grave consequence that could change the entirety of the story.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Vlad Masters, Danny Fenton/Vlad Masters
Comments: 46
Kudos: 278





	1. Paved with Good Intentions

**Author's Note:**

> There are some drastic changes to this story line that I'll list here.  
> The shows storyline goes on just as it used to. But, once the shows canon end comes around the Flashbacks that reoccur in this story will appear. 
> 
> The Flashbacks will be in italics. However, because of the blatant time meddling our boy Danny tried out, he accidentally created an alternate timeline, which is where our story comes in.  
> Because Danny shows a sick Vlad kindness during his stay in the hospital twenty years ago Vlad develops an unsettling obsession with the mystery person who saved him. Rather than Maddie. 
> 
> However, the Danny he ends up obsessing over is the clueless 14 year old trying to find his place in the world, since the Danny who helped him isn't around anymore.  
> This Danny in question is also slightly different than cannon, due to alternative timelines. His friends don't know about his powers, he's extra paranoid about everything because of this since he has no one to turn to or confide in. 
> 
> He's also more socially withdrawn, not actively trying to antagonize people. Which is really great for Vlad, tbh.  
> (Also I'm applying that Transgender Danny Theory. It's not going to have a profound effect, but it will sort of showcase all the other levels of acceptance that everyone in Danny's life. Sorry, not sorry)

_Not exactly sure if this is more of a Badger Cereal or a Pompous Pep story, since Vlad isn't thinking of Danny as a potential son or heir but more like someone he admires and views positively (like how he probably idolized and clung to Maddie as a representation of comfort or kindness more than as a person who isn't romantically interested in him)._

_It was so hot, I couldn't breath. I can't breath, I'm going to die. Where is everyone? Why is no one helping me? Jack? Maddie? Anyone...? Please, please help me. Please save me. I don't want to die._

* * *

"I hope you realize that this can cause disastrous outcomes." Clockwork sighed as he stared at me, he didn't look disappointed per say, more like concerned. Sort of how Jazz looked that time I told her about causing a prison riot when I was 14, resigned and concerned about the state of my head. 

"C'mon, Clockwork. Don't look at me like that!" I exclaimed, fed up with everyone's attitude about my idea. "This will be for the best!"

"This one alteration will end up changing everything, I hope you realize that." He stated, a bored look on his newly young face. 

"Yeah, I know. I remember the last two time changes I was involved with." I grumbled as I folded my arms, frustrated at everyone always thinking they're better than my ideas. "Heck, I fought my evil older self the first time!"

"I'm aware. I still have the Thermos." Clockwork sighed as he went over to the large mirror like temporal portals that could bring me to my goal.

"I'm sorry, Clockwork." I sigh as I follow him. "But you know that I need to do this."

"Goodbye, Daniel." Clockwork sighed in defeat as he lowered his ancient head. 

"This isn't forever, Clockwork." I explained as I put a silver gloved hand on his shoulder. "Once I'm sure Fruitloop can control his powers and he gets the okay to leave the hospital, I'll come back."

"No. You won't." Clockwork shakes his head slowly as he holds the hand on his shoulder. "Once you change this, once you go... You will change everything."

"You won't be you." He whispered as he looked up at me. "This choice will change everything. They will be subtle, surely. You will still get your powers, all those you know will still exist as they are..."  
I open my mouth to retort that 'that's all that matters' but the look on his face silences my usually witty comebacks.

"You... I cannot guarantee anything about you." He started, his brows furrowing as he looks up at me with a distant look in his eyes. "The two of you have such an intertwined fate that once one changes the other will as well. You will be an anomaly. One that I cannot predict other than you will become Half-Ghost."

"I cannot guarantee your mannerisms, your friendships, your family relationships, not even your appearance." His eyes grew determined as he looked into my own. "You may change his life for the better, but you could just as easily become what you seek to prevent."

It was silent. A suffocating silence with no humorous escape. These- these risks are deafening. I could ruin _everything_ , but Vlad -Fruitloop- he... not even he deserves what he went through, and I can help him. I can be there when no one else was.

"I'm sorry, but my mind is made up." I say quietly, like a secret between us. 

"I know." Clockwork responded as he pulled me into a hug, effectively startling me. This was the first time he'd ever hugged me throughout our entire mentorship. 

"Goodbye, Clockwork." I choked out as I returned the hug, tightening my grip on him, almost afraid to let go.

"I'll look forward to meeting you again." Clockwork said with warm, sad eyes as we parted from our first, and last, hug. Mentor and teacher becoming strangers once more. 

"You're just looking forward to getting to time troll me again." I laughed as I flew into the portal, pretending to not notice the tight feeling in my throat or the slight burning in my eyes.


	2. The Journey to Hell

_Burningburningburningburning - it hurts! It's as if my flesh is melting right off of my body! Where are my friends?_

_Where is Jack, with his constant way of looking to the best of the world? His unstoppable positive nature._

_Where is Maddie, with her kindness and understanding? Her lively nature and brilliant mind._

_Why am I alone? Why am I here to suffer? Why is this happening to me? Why am I dying, and why aren't my friends here in my most dire time?_

* * *

Despite not having traveled back to this time in a long, well, _time_. I still recognize the school well enough. This is where my parents fell in love, where their trio became a duo, where a man became something unprecedented, where an entire life plan was absolutely destroyed. 

But, it's not the school I should be at, it's the hospital. Why did Clockwork bring me _here_? Knowing him, he's probably giving me a last chance to turn back. Not that I'll take it. He should know by now, how stubborn I am, after all these years he's known me.

Turning myself invisible I started my journey to find Vlad, which shouldn't be too hard. Just find the nearest hospital, really. 

After a little less than ten minutes I found myself staring down said hospital, a knot tying itself in my stomach as I floated unseen to the people entering and exiting the building. 

Passing through the doors I entered the hospital. I _hate_ hospitals. Not just because of the incident from when I was 14 -still can't look at tissues the same way- but because of the souls that _linger_ here.

I never noticed them at first, but as I grew older and stronger... The transparent afterimages of people who died but have yet to pass on have always unsettled me. 

Unlike the ghosts of the Ghost Zone, they have no Association. Obsession can anchor a spirit, even help them to form those shapeless ghosts or transparent echoes that haunt houses. An Association, though, that gives them power and the ability to learn and grow. Powerful ghosts are made from Associations.

It just so happened that a lot of the ghosts I fought in my childhood were those types. I still think Skulker was cheating, though. That blob just _possesses_ a metal body. I call hacks.

Shaking my head to escape my thoughts I drifted along to the wall that held the list of floors.

"If I had a disfiguring disease that people weren't sure was contagious or not, where would I be held?" I asked myself under my breath, remembering that unseen doesn't equal unheard.

Sam and I could write a book on all the awkward situations that fact _alone_ has gotten us into.

Sam- I never did tell her what I was planning on doing, did I? I just went off on my own. No one knows what I'm doing. 

No one but Clockwork, that is.

With a heavy sigh and eyes that _weren't_ burning from unshed tears I went off in the direction of the ICU. That's where they keep the trouble patients, right?

* * *

Looking down at him, face distorted from the ecto-acne, feverish, and tossing about in his sleep. I knew that it was too late for me to turn back now. 

I would never be able to go back to my life, knowing that I could've eased his suffering. That I did _nothing_. That's not who I am. 

I know the moment I've decided to change this moment, I will no longer exist. I will change what should have remained untampered with, and it will cost the entire timeline I exist within. Myself included.

Is this the ultimate act of selflessness? Selfishness? Stupidity? Honestly, it's probably a mix of all of them. But I need to do this. This one act could stop so much horror from occurring, so many lives, so much tragedy.

I can stop him from disappearing into the void of space, I can stop him from becoming evil, I can stop him from suffering alone in this hospital room.

"It's all right Fruitloop," I say to myself as I reach my silver gloved hand towards his forehead, "I'm going to help you."

* * *

A lone figure sighs with a heavy heart as the careful threads of time and space twist and turn, distorting from their previous position and forming into a new pattern. The image in the green vortex before him becoming clouded and distorted, preventing him from seeing what was to happen next to the foolish boy he watched for so long. 


	3. Ctrl Alt Delete

_A cool hand woke me up from a fevered dream. I know I'm awake, because none of my dreams have ever been mercifully cold like this._

_A soothing voice that I did not recognize nor understand spoke to me, almost reassuringly._

_A cool wet rag is wiped across my forehead, something that no one has done in a seemingly long time, likely repulsed by the ectoplasmic acne._

_It's so cool and soothing for me, I can't even keep awake any longer. I just want this feeling to last forever..._

_"Don't worry, Vlad. I'm here."_

* * *

Oh, Fruitloop... I could feel something inside me break as I watched him fall back asleep. His face was scrunched up in obvious discomfort and his body felt feverish to me. 

Well, everyone feels feverish to me since I always run cold after my core settled. But this, this was an inferno. Like Vlad's body was trying to boil him alive.

I grumble a bit under my breath as I curse this situation in its entirety. When my core developed I was able to get help from others with my core type. I don't know how to help regulate him. I am way out of my element here. _Literally_.

I know that this fever won't kill him, it can't since he survives in my timeline. But it can cause him to suffer, and that's what I'm here to prevent. 

Maybe I can use _my_ core to cool down his? If I do that his body might be able to adjust better to the presence of the ghost DNA, maybe make his stay at the hospital shorter.

At least now I have some form of a plan. Jazz would be proud.

* * *

It's a bit scary how easy it was to get a schedule for taking care of Vlad, now that I'm thinking about it.

Most nurses avoid visiting unless they have to, and they never stick around long. Which helps me, and Vlad, since that means more time that I'll be able to keep his fever down. 

Stealing food from the hospital isn't really my proudest moment, though. I don't have any money -I completely forgot- and I haven't even been born yet so I don't have many other options available _but_ to steal. Future Fruitloop would be proud. 

Fruitloop....

A part of me just hoped that some of the stuff he said way back when was just him being dramatic or not able to remember because he was so sick... But as these days blur together and go past me I've come to an epiphany of sorts.

My parents were jerks. _Are_ jerks? ... They're kinda terrible at the moment.

They haven't shown up at all! And I've been keeping an eye out for any sign, too.

No phone call asking for Vlad's condition, no walking up to the nurse and asking about him, nothing. And I checked the records of visitors and stuff, they didn't come by before my coming here either!

The only thing they did was stay at the scene when the paramedics came and brought him to the hospital. That was it.

Sometimes I wonder at what would've happened if I was in Vlad's condition. If Sam and Tucker called for help when I was knocked out of the portal the first time. If I was kept in a hospital for months, even years, because of my condition. 

They would have checked in on me, I know they would've. But... Vlad probably thought the same thing, didn't he? And they never showed...

I can't keep thinking these kinds of thoughts, though. I'll just bum myself out. I just have to keep up this schedule and help Vlad recover.

That's all I _can_ do now.


	4. Stranger No More

_This is the first time I've been able to stay awake when the visitor came by. I usually only know when they show up when the fever goes away and my body stops aching because of the cool feeling in the air._

_I'm almost scared to let them know I'm awake. Will they leave me? I don't want to be alone again. I don't want to be abandoned._

_I open my mouth to say something- anything to them. Why are they here? Why be kind to me? Why them and not the friends I thought were always going to be there for me?_

_But all that came out was a guttural strangled sound that sounded nothing like words._

_"Hey, hey- it's okay, here, do you need some water?" They sounded scrambled, shocked that I was awake._

_But I didn't linger on that thought long. The cool water held against my lips has become the most important thing to me._

_"Easy there, Fruitloop. Don't rush, we don't need you to choke." They seemed to laugh as they rearranged the way they were holding the cup._

_"Who are you?"_

_"I- I'm a... a friend... Y-Yeah! A friend! A friend you haven't met yet."_

_"Like a stranger?"_

_"Well, I mean. Sort of...? We'll meet in like, twenty years or something."_

_Twenty years? What is this visitor talking about?_

_"Hey, it's okay. Go to sleep, you need your rest to recover."_

_"Will- will you still be here...? When I wake up...?"_

_"Of course Fruitloop, where else would I be?"_

* * *

Oh, geez. This situation is getting trickier, isn't it? I mean, I knew that he'd start waking up and talking eventually. I just didn't know eventually was _today_!

What was I thinking? I practically implied time travel! Clockwork is going to be peeved when he sees me again. Hopefully he'll forget the comment, or just think that I'm a mental ward escapee. Does this place even have a mental ward?

This whole mess was a lousy idea... But the way Vlad seemed so desperate for me to stay here, to be there when he wakes up... I can't leave, not now. 

He needs me, and I made myself a promise that I would be there for him when no one else would. I started this plan, and now I need to do it. 

Man up, Danny. You need to be the best nurse in the world.

* * *

When Vlad woke up I was expecting... I don't actually know what I was expecting? Not this, that's for sure. Not this _staring_.

His dark blue eyes looking at me as though he thinks he can read my mind if he stares at me long enough. Maybe he can? I don't actually know the full extent of Vlad's abilities, just that he was really good at them. Either way, this is kinda creepy.

Fortunately Vlad must've thought something like that, too, since he decided to try talking.

"What... What is your name?" He asked, a bit tentative, which is not something I thought I would ever use to describe my cheesehead.

"Uh..." Ah, crap. Can I tell him my name? Did he know about me before the reunion...? Screw it, play it safe. "Raven. You can call me Raven."

"Raven...?" Wow does that sound like a crappy name! What am I, an edgelord? I'm already half dead! Way to go brain. "...You already know my name?"

"It's Vlad isn't it?" 

Vlad only nods in response, maybe his throat is tired because he's not used to talking? His eyes seem heavy and a bit clouded, though. He seems troubled. I'm not sure what's troubling him, to be honest. It could be a lot of things. A stranger keeping him company is probably troubling, but I'm not sure that's it.

"My... My friends. Jack and Maddie?" Vlad swallows and there's a nervous look in his eyes. "Did they... Are they visiting, too?"

Crap. What do I say? If I tell him my parents ditched him he's going to be devastated! And I remember Jazz saying something about depressed sick people having low survival rates compared to hopeful people. Agh! What do I do?! I can't lie to that kicked dog face of his!

And apparently Vlad decided that my silence was enough of an answer because I heard him whisper out an "Oh." and let me tell you that is one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever heard-

Suddenly Vlad began to slip. And I don't mean falling out of bed slipping, slipping as in becoming partially intangible and slipping through the cushion of the hospital bed. Been there, done that. -Still actually do that if I have a bad nightmare-

His startled cry and the terror in his eyes practically forced me to action. Tapping into my own powers I was able to take hold of his arms and pull him back up. Surprisingly, this trick took me a while to master since you have to turn your hands intangible and then force the other to become tangible. 

I was able to pull him back and was about to settle him down into the bed once more, but I found that I couldn't. Mainly because Vlad was clinging to my arms desperately, his fingernails digging into my arms hard enough to draw blood. Quite the feat considering how thick my skin is from all the fighting I've done.

"Hey, hey Vlad." I try to soothe him desperately, worried he'll have a panic attack or something. "It's okay, you're alright now. I'm right here."

"See?" I reassure holding up his now tangible hands up to his face. "You're here. You're alright."

His breathing slowly begins to even out, stray tears spilling out of his eyes as he closes them in relief. His arms were still trembling and I know from experience that it will take a while for it to subside. 

... At least he's too busy freaking out about his intangibility to cry about being friendless...? Dang it Danny, why are you like this?


	5. Quote the Raven

_What do I actually know about this visitor? He knows my name, but that could have been easy enough to learn. He seems to know exactly what I need, before even I know it. He claims that we'll meet in twenty years, which is equally confusing and concerning._

_And that last and most recent development is his fearlessness. I'm certain that Jack and Maddie would've been scared out of their mind, but not the visitor. He was calm, and even knew exactly what it took for me to go back to normal. How does he have experience with this?_

* * *

After nearly a day passed Vlad finally woke up. For a long while he just laid there and looked at the ceiling. And I sat there sweating it out until he finally looked back at me.

"What happened to me?" He asks, although it sounds a bit like my frootloop's demands, which is both concerning and comforting.

"Do..." I start, hesitating a bit as I try to phrase this as delicately as possible. "Do you remember what happened that got you sent here."

I can't help but cringe a bit as Vlad flinches at that. The memory is probably still too fresh to actually talk about this, but it needs to happen. I learned the hard way that things like that don't go away if you don't talk about it. Jazz worked hard to get me to open up. 

He brought himself up into a sitting position, his posture looking defeated and weighted.

"We were in the lab..." Vlad murmured, so soft that I wouldn't have been able to hear it if I wasn't half ghost. "Working on the portal prototype."

"And then," Vlad's eyes clench shut, and I know that he's remembering the pain of the blast. I do too when I think about my own incident. "it blew up in my face."

"I was looking into it, I didn't know it was going to be activated!" Vlad's breathing got elevated and I noticed his hands were starting to flicker a bit. I rush over and rub his back, desperate to calm him down.

"It's okay." I whisper to him, in what I hope is a reassuring tone. "Breath, okay?"

He nodded and I guided his breathing with the same techniques Jazz taught me when I was going through my own trauma.

After enough time passed Vlad finally looked back at me. His dark blue eyes were lost and afraid, a look that reminded me of the first few months of my powers.

"Did I die?" Now _that_ was a question I really don't want to answer. And I have no idea how Clockwork was able to sit me down and discuss it as he had now that I have to do it myself for Vlad.

The truth was yes. But it was also no.

I was electrocuted, my entire genetic structure being torn apart and put back together in a split second. I became caught in a state of Living and Dead because of all the energy contaminating my DNA.

But Vlad was different. His was a slow working disease, not strong enough to kill him but instead rendered him in a state of limbo just like me.

"If you died then so did I." I ultimately answer.

He stares at me with a blank look before it shifts to confusion and disbelief. 

"We're called Halfa's." I try to explain. "Half human and half ghost."

I look down at my hands, clenching them and feeling the ectoplasmic energy build up within them. A flicker or two escaping over the flesh of my hands. Vlad's almost inaudible gasp at the sight spurring me on to continue in explaining.

"Because of what happened to us... we're basically caught between being alive and being dead."

Vlad quickly glances to the heart monitor before looking back to my face.

"You and I..." I look at his face with what I hope is a reassuring smile. "We're in the same situation."

"The incident from earlier? With the bed? That was one of the abilities we gained because of it." I try to explain helpfully.

Vlad looks away from my face, looking nervous and scared. A bit of my heart breaks with that look.

"It's okay, Fruitloop." I murmur as I gently, very gently, nudge his face so he looks back at me. "I'm here to help you control these powers. So you don't have to be scared any more, okay?"

A grateful smile twitches at his lips as he nods. My chest feeling a bit lighter at the look.

* * *

The first day I spent explaining the basics of what he could do in his human form. I don't want to push him to transforming just yet.

The next few days was basically just me teaching him how to meditate. While I put up quite the stink to Jazz at the time, it really _did_ come in handy. If I knew how to regulate my breathing and emotions when I was first starting out then I probably could've avoided being banned from the lab part of Science class my Freshman year at high school.

Vlad took to it a lot easier than I did, which makes sense based on what I know about him. Although I will admit I _was_ a bit jealous at _exactly_ how quick he took it up.

After that I taught him the basics that he could do in human form. Boy was there a _lot_ of blackmail material there! Shame I'll never be able to use it...

Teaching him how to transform without showing him my own form actually went better than I expected, if I'm being honest. Sure, he got spooked and kind of torched the ceiling... but it could've been worse! He could've blasted a hole in the ceiling, instead. It happened to me. Boy did mom give me an earful for _that_ one. You think she'd cut me some slack because I helped save the entire planet, _but_ _no_.

By the end of the whole ordeal I've figured that either I would be _great_ at being a teacher or Vlad is just that good, but either way the lessons went smoothly. It took a little over a month but he was able to make blasts, shields, and even eye beams!

I even told him about all the crazy stuff that I remembered seeing him do on his own, like the weapons and duplication. Elemental stuff, too. But I had to stress that it varied from ghost to ghost and that he was most definitely _not_ the same element as me. He seemed a bit put out with that for some reason.

Spending all this time with Vlad was actually pretty great. It makes me wonder if I could've had a relationship like this with him in my own time, roles reversed of course. I try not to think of it much... but we really do make a great team.

He told me about his interests in business courses and I told him about my love of space (even my secret way of seeing the stars in the city!). I told him about the Ghost Zone, things to look out for, stories and legends... I even mentioned Ghost Writer! I'm not sure if he's there yet or not but he will be eventually. I even answered some of the questions Vlad had about the other ghosts.

Favorite colors, food, animals! You name it, we shared it. We became so close that Vlad could've given Tucker a run for his money in how much he knows about me! Which I guess is what made it hurt so much that I was going to have to leave him soon.

The tug has been getting more insistent, and I know that my time- despite how cliché it sounds- is running out soon.

At least it ran out after Vlad got better at controlling his abilities. Looking at him, his hands gleaming with controlled ectoplasm of that brilliant fuchsia-like color, I know that he's going to be alright.

And the day before he gets let out of the hospital I'll say my goodbyes and let the timeline sweep me away. I did what I came to do, anyway.


	6. Bittersweet Farewell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first off, thank you for reading this far. Second off, the POV here will be Vlad's after this chapter for the next while. I'm basically going to go over the rise of Plasmius, how he got his reputation, his search for Danny, etc.  
>  Also, hate to make you guys sad (that's a lie, I'm a sadistic bitch) but the Danny whose POV we've just been following has been erased from existence. So the whole canon storyline has, in fact, happened but it was essentially erased because of the changes that have just happened that contradict each other. Danny just killed a timeline. And himself. Way to go hero.

_I don't understand him. How could he be so certain that we would meet again in twenty years? Why **twenty**? Is there something special about that time? Perhaps there's some sort of tradition of sorts for ghosts that only occurs? Maybe all I need to do is look around in the 'Ghost Zone' I keep hearing about. _

_Now, how does one go about making a full scale portal to the ghost zone. Or rather, one that's already made, because I refuse to be put back in the hospital after I just got out._

* * *

The sight of my run down dorm should have been a welcome change compared to the white hospital walls that made up my life for such a terribly long time. However I can't help but miss the sight of blue eyes and black hair. 

I know that my Raven said that we would meet once again. But twenty years is such a tragically long time... How can I go without seeing him for so long after seeing him every day for so long?

With a heavy sigh I heave the door open, my arms carrying a rather large container full of mail I had been receiving since the incident. The inside of the dorm is covered in dust and the festering remains of the food that was left inside it while I was at the hospital. Honestly, that was probably a major health hazard. I just got out of the hospital, I don't plan on going right back in!

So, first things first, clean up the dorm. 

And after that I'll read my mail. 

"Chin up, Vlad." I tell myself as I put the box down with a huff. "You can do this. You've survived worse in the past few months." 

* * *

It took nearly two days, but my dorm is clean and all of my mail is opened. The result of the unexpected venture which turned my life inside out has been minimized to the point where I will no longer struggle to regain my 'lost' life. Although my clothing still doesn't fit as well as it once did. 

I suppose I'll just have to clear out the clothing that no longer fit... which means trying on everything in the closet. With a heavy sigh, the kind that I've been using a lot of lately, I pull open the small closet containing the shirts I had bought from that Thrift Store Jack and Maddie took me to during our first semester. My hand stills for a moment at the thought of them before I shrugged it off.

With a steadying breath I take the worn shirts and pants off of their hooks, bundling them into my arms. I was just about to turn around and drop them onto my bed but something caught my eye.

I saw _them_. Stuffed into a cardboard box that looked beaten up and reused repeatedly. The notes for the prototype portal. I had nearly forgotten that I was the one who held onto all of the important files. Maddie had her roommates that tended to mess with her stuff and Jack was... Jack... I tried to ignore the aching feeling in my chest as I thought of them and instead focused back on the box.

I dropped the shirts and pants onto the ground unceremoniously, the soft sound of them hitting the floor being the only sound besides my racing heartbeat. Swallowing down the more foul emotions I was feeling I reached over to the box and opened it up. The sight of folders and papers filled with handwritten notes of terribly familiar penmanship greeted me. My hands trembled and my healing face burned with phantom pains as I looked at them.

No. I will not let my fears consume me and trap me in my past. I will grow from this and become a better man. A man worthy of my saviors devotion.

And with that thought I took out the contents and spread the pages across my once dust covered desk, pouring over every note and detail to see where the prototype went wrong. Which, admittedly, took a long time. 

Especially since I had to look over an absurd number of bills and charges. Fortunately most of my hospital stay was covered by the college, as I was hurt in a lab. Unfortunately the same can not be said about my college bills and fees. 

So I'm going to have to work on the portal between jobs then. 

* * *

Every fiber of my being seemed to scream at me as my hand hovered over the switch to turn on the portal. It was much larger than that retched prototype and if it malfunctioned the same way then the blast could probably kill whatever part of me is still alive. 

With a steadying breath I flipped the switch-

-and I was rewarded with a gentle hum of the portal as it opened without issue.

It was a brilliant green, with a hypnotic swirl that seemed to draw me in. A functioning portal to the Ghost Zone. I suppose it's time to see of the stories my savior told me are real.


End file.
